Clears way for IFRS launch by April deadline, Govt resolves tax issues

January, 06th 2011

The ministry of corporate affairs has resolved tax hurdles to the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) with the tax department, Salman Khurshid, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs said on Wednesday.

The ministry was getting positive response from companies in regards to the implementation, Mr Khurshid said in a summit at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), a day after the minister said the deadline of April 2011 for the transition to the new international accounting norms will be met. He did not disclose details.

Recently, industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) sought to defer the IFRS implementation beyond the deadline.

According to the road map laid out by the corporate affairs ministry , companies will have to prepare their accounts as per the new norm in a phased manner, beginning with companies that have a net worth of over Rs 1,000 crore.

BSE is planning to launch a platform for SME by end of 2011, said Madhu Kannan, the exchanges chief executive officer, in the summit. He did not give further details.

The bourse sought the Securities and Exchange Board of Indias (Sebi) approval earlier this year to launch the SME exchange. Currently, there are almost 3,000 small- and medium-sized companies that trade on BSE.

Mr Khurshid said the company law board is not in a position to take a stand in the recent Citibank fiasco, as it comes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The fraud has been committed by the irresponsibility of a few people involved and not the whole organisation, unlike Satyam . So, it has to be tried under IPC, said the minister.

Last week, Shivraj Puri, an employee of Citibanks Gurgaon branch, was arrested on accusations of duping some wealthy investors and diverting around Rs 350 crore.